A 22-year-old college student was hit and killed by a vehicle when riding her bicycle near the main entrance to Sacramento State on Friday, April 1. According to a KCRA.com article, the female cyclist was traveling south on Carlson Drive and the driver of the white Hyundai who struck her was traveling east on J Street. The overnight Sacramento fatal bike accident reportedly took place at 1:45 a.m.
It was reported that police measured and examined the bike collision scene for hours to establish what precisely caused the crash. A Sacramento Police Sergeant stated that it wasn't determined that the vehicle driver violated the law. The speed limit at the intersection where the fatal accident occurred is 35 miles per hour and at the time the article was released, police didn't believe that the motorist was speeding.
Although it was reported that the bicyclist was not wearing reflective clothing and did not have reflectors on her bike, in similar instances, motorists can still be held legally responsible for injuries and fatalities if they contributed to a bike accident.
With rising gas prices and good weather conditions, there are likely to be more bikes on the road. This makes it all the more important for motorists to remember the duty of care they owe to bicyclists as well as pedestrians and others on the road.
According to data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 716 pedalcyclists were killed and an additional 52,000 suffered injuries in traffic accidents throughout the United States. This number of pedalcyclist deaths amounted to 2 percent of all traffic deaths in 2009.
When a person's life is taken too soon due to the negligence or reckless action of another person, even when the accident is a mistake, family members are left with not only grief, but also often several other unexpected financial and emotional hardships. Sacramento bike crash lawyers are dedicated to protecting the rights of family members who have lost loved ones in bicycle accidents caused by negligent drivers.
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